Look After This, Will You?
by Lil-Hellraiser
Summary: Gwen Whitney doesn’t believe in bad luck. When her father gives her a relic from the Titanic graveyard, she is thrown into Southampton in April of 1912, and right into the arms of a certain 6th Officer Moody.
1. The Victoria's Findings

"**Look After This, Will You?"**

**Summary: **Gwen Whitney doesn't believe in bad luck. When her father gives her a relic from the Titanic graveyard, she is thrown into Southampton in April of 1912, and right into the arms of a certain 6th Officer Moody.

**A/N:** My first Titanic fic! And—what a surprise—it's another girl-falls-into-other-world-fic! I don't know why I choose to do them, but go figure. I had two ideas for this one…if I ever make a second titanic fic, it'll be taking place solely in 1912. This one is about 6th Officer Moody…brave man. He refused to get on a lifeboat and continued to load people into the lifeboats until they were all gone. He perished on the Titanic, the youngest officer, and his body was never recovered, so whether it was hypothermia, drowning, or injuries that killed him, we will never know. It's sad and noble. He's one of my favorites out of all the officers. (My second favorite is 5th Officer Lowe). **Sorry if the beginning is a bit slow!**

**Disclaimer:** James Cameron owns the film Titanic. The counselor, Steve, Tim, Gwen, Victoria, and Loren are all mine. Oh, so are Ben and Amanda. Lotsa characters for the first chapter, but most of them won't show up for a while.

**P.S.** The title is something that James Moody he actually said. Anyone who tells me who he said it to and what he was talking about gets my undying love and gratitude…I already know what it is, of course…hee. Oh, and I'll review all your stories and…give you authentic Titanic paper weights…well anyway…**R&R.**

* * *

The counselor looked back and forth between Steve, Tim, and Gwen. Then he looked down at their report.

_Summary of Problem:_

1.Steve is friends with Gwen. 

2.Gwen dated Steve.

3.Gwen breaks up with Steve and remains his friend

4.Gwen dated Tim.

5. Steve doesn't like Tim.

He glanced back at them. The only reason they were here was because a trusted teacher had explained their situation and only wanted the best for them.

"Right," He said, coughing slightly. The three stared him down. It was obvious that their report had been filled out with no seriousness whatsoever. He could even sense that they were trying their hardest not to smile.

"Now, you know that this sort of thing is rarely ever sorted out, and it's good that you've chosen to talk to someone about it."

Tim snorted. "Chosen…sure." He was ignored.

"Now that we've established the problem, how do we work through it?" The counselor asked. Gwen cleared her throat cordially, if not mockingly.

"I still want to be friends with Steve, even if I dated Tim." She said dully.

"I never liked Tim and couldn't believe you were dating him…no offense, Tim." Steve muttered.

"Humph." Tim grumbled.

"I don't think I should date any of you because we're all just friends." Gwen continued.

"Though not necessarily with each other." Steve added.

"I agree." Tim spoke.

"Good, good…discussions are great…is that all?" The counselor looked up from filling out the rest of the report. When he looked back down, he grimaced.

_Subject Resolution:_

1.Gwen and Tim want to be friends.

2.Steve admits to ill feelings towards Tim.

3.Gwen thinks they should all be friends.

4. Tim agrees with Gwen.

It all sounded so _stupid_.

"Well…if that's all…" Blank looks crossed everyone's faces. "I'll copy these and you can go." He stood up and left the office. As so as he left, the teenagers burst out laughing.

"That was retarded!" Tim laughed, still staring at the door.

"This was so pointless!" Steve said, chuckling slightly.

"Yeah…did we solve anything, really?" Gwen asked.

"We repeated what we already figured out," Steve replied, scratching his head. "But hell if I'm going to be here forever—I don't care if I'm missing school for this, this is totally messed up."

They laughed for another second, and stopped abruptly when the counselor entered the office again. He glanced at them all for a moment before passing out the copied reports.

"Take these with you and have them signed by your parents to verify that you understand everything." He said, eyeing them. They nodded and left. As soon as they rounded a corner, they balled up the reports and dunked them into a trashcan.

* * *

"Mom, I'm home!" Gwen walked up the stairs to her room and kicked off her shoes, then left her messenger bag carelessly on the floor. Loud footsteps signaled her mother's approach.

"Gwen, your father called!" Her mother, Victoria, was ecstatic over the news of her husband. "He'll be sailing into the harbor in a few hours!"

Gwen grinned uncontrollably. "He's early! He told us last week that it would take longer!"

"He wanted it to be a surprise!" Both females basked in their own private joy. Her father was finally coming home! After months at sea, which is what he usually did, he was coming home early!

Gwen had never had a particular interest in ships or shipbuilding, but had grown up around ships and boats. She liked some things about them, like blueprint designs and nautical orders and Morse code. She had just never been into sailing for endless months like her dad.

Loren Whitney was literally born at sea. His mother had been on a cruise with his father and he was born three weeks early. He continued to stick around the ports and such until he was through school and got a job on a fishing vessel. He built up his reputation but maintaining titles such as First Officer and Navigator, and then was qualified for a captain's license shortly after Gwen was born. He owned his own ship, _The Victoria_ (named after his wife), that he used to explore shipwrecks. For Pete's sake, he named his daughter Gwenivere, meaning, "white wave". His love for the sea ran deep.

"Get your coat! He'll be in the harbor in two hours!" Her mother hurried her on, knowing that with traffic, getting across Boston could take most of that time. Gwen did what she was told, smiling brightly.

* * *

It was slightly chilly when_ The Victoria_ entered the harbor. Various crewman were rushing about and yelling, while other officers lugged about on the bridge watching land grow closer. A man stepped on the deck and let out a shout. Gwen and her mother looked up.

"Hey!" Gwen shouted and waved at her father's form. Even from so far away, she could see the smile on his face. A few women followed her example, obviously there because their husband or son or relative of some sort was finally home. It took about twenty more minutes, but finally the crew was exiting the ship. Men and some woman made their way across the dock and latched on to their loved ones.

"Hey, Gwen." A young man named Ben caught her attention.

"Ben! How are you?" She asked, giving him a half-hug.

"Great!" He beamed. "I was missing dry land—that's the longest I've ever been out to sea."

"You get used to it." She rolled her eyes, remembering how every summer her dad would drag her on a cruise or something for months at a time. Though she'd never been on a ship for a total of seven months—which is how long they'd been gone. Ben suddenly froze. A pretty woman behind her was searching the crowd.

"It's Amanda." He said, his cheeks flushing. "I'm going to do it, Gwen. I have to ask her tonight. I've been away from her too long."

Gwen smiled and put a hand on his cold cheek. "Good for you, Ben. You guys are perfect for each other." She then grabbed his arm and lightly pushed him towards Amanda. The other woman was still searching the crowds when he stepped up to her. She smiled and suddenly jumped into his arms, earning a laugh from him. Other people were turning to watch the lovebirds. Gwen wondered when she'd get an invitation.

She turned her attention back to her mother, who was now locked in an embrace with her father. She hated to ruin their moment, but, damn, he was her dad! She coughed.

Loren slowly turned and gazed down at his daughter, simultaneously opening his arms, preparing for a huge hug. Gwen ran to his arms, which smelled comfortingly like salt and musk. Her dad had been away so long that he had even missed her seventeenth birthday. He had called and promised a gift when he returned, but it just wasn't the same. He had only missed her birthday one other time, when she was nine. He usually tried to avoid it.

"Look at you!" He surveyed her. "I think you've grown." Gwen laughed. Every time her dad went away, he always came back and told her how much she'd grown when in reality, not much about her had changed since he left. The only thing different was that she dyed her hair back to its original colora deep brown with reddish-blonde highlights, which usually only showed up in the sun.

"I missed you!" She said, standing up on her tiptoes to deliver a kiss to his cheek. It was rough and stained in areas with stubble, but it felt great just to be able to hug him again.

"And I missed you…" He said, reaching into his pocket. Her eyes followed, and Victoria smiled knowingly. "…And I missed your birthday." He finished, brandishing a box. Gwen looked at it before carefully taking it. It was something he must have picked up at a seaport somewhere because the craftsmanship on it was superb. The woodwork was fascinating, adorned with shells and seaweed and bubbles. The box alone was a keepsake!

"Are you going to ogle it or open it?" Her mother asked teasingly. Blushing, Gwen hesitantly opened the box and peered at the gift inside.

It was a nearly black iron key, hanging from an obviously new strip of leather. Attached at the end was a small, shined pendant made of brass or gold or something. On one side was a sea sunset from the view of a crow's nest.

Gwen looked up at her father. It was beautiful; a birthday gift she would treasure forever…but it was obviously debris or remains of a shipwreck. Her dad loved exploring those especially. Her gratitude must have shone in her eyes.

"Which shipwreck did you explore this time?" She asked, admiring it once more. He lifted it out of its box and exposed the other side of the pendant to her. It had "PROPERTY OF _RMS TITANIC_, WHITE STAR LINE" engraved in large letters. She nearly dropped the box.

"Dad…this is great…" she gulped. "But the Titanic is…is a graveyard. Isn't it wrong to take something like this?" He shrugged.

"My story is that we were heading over that shipwreck about a month ago and decided to load the submersibles in the water and check it out. We were noting on things like bacteria and measurements since it was last explored, but when we scooped up some sea sand it happened to have this little pendant in it. The leather it had on it was all spongy and chewed away, and it was real grimy and I remembered your birthday had just passed, so I cleaned it up. I even got new leather. Now it's all polished and nice and everything."

Gwen smiled at my dad's sea accounts, but inside, she was nervous. "Isn't it bad luck to rob shipwrecks?" she asked.

Loren was silent for half a second before he roared with laughter. "Dear heart," He murmured, patting her head, "its just a little key. It wasn't sunken treasure or anything!" He chuckled some more, and even her mom laughed a little. He pulled her close. "Bad luck…which scurvy sailor told you that? I'll never let him hear the end of it!" She could tell he was joking.

Ever since Gwen was little, she had thought of the sailors on her father's ship as fun and exciting. They always took shortcuts to get to their destinations (sliding down ladders, for example) and showed her all the secret passages in the ship, and would bring her to the kitchens for a midnight snack if she asked. But along with befriending the sailors came their legends. And it was legend among her father's crew about ten years ago that had chilled her most. It was the about robbing wrecked ships. Bad luck would follow you. They had told her about men dying because of cursed loot from pirate treasure and such. She had been a frightened little girl then.

Now, Loren's crew was not the same at all. All the men she had known had been offered jobs elsewhere or switched to different boats, or were just tired of life on the sea and wanted to settle down with families.

She built up enough courage to laugh at herself for her foolishness. Bad luck. Yeah, sure. She was seventeen, and she now knew better.

"Sorry, I'm just paranoid, I guess." She said, closing the box. Her parents laughed, but soon were gazing out at the beautiful sunset. Every so often one would look at the other, and then look away when they were caught. It was like they were teenagers again. Their hands were entwined, and they seemed very shy. Gwen suddenly wanted to leave her parents alone.

"Can I have some money to run down to the store?" She asked, pointing to the place across the street. "I'm…running low on school supplies."

"Sure," Her mom walked to the car and dug out her purse, then opened her wallet and grabbed a twenty. She seemed partially distracted by Loren being back. "Here." She handed it to Gwen, who put it in her own wallet.

"You guys can go on home, I'll catch the bus or something." She said, waving them off and planning to take at least a few hours wandering around to give them privacy. Then she walked carefully across the dock.

Suddenly a little boy came hurling out of nowhere toward her and in an effort to get out of the way, she moved quickly on the wood. The dock was slippery because of sea spray and water, and she swiftly fell on her back, head smacking loudly on the salty wood. Gwen looked up at the sky, dazed, before groaning quietly and succumbing to darkness. The box was cradled to her side, apparently unharmed.


	2. The Big Explanation

"**Look After This, Will You?" **

**Summary: **Gwen Whitney doesn't believe in bad luck. When her father gives her a relic from the Titanic graveyard, she is thrown into Southampton in April of 1912, and right into the arms of a certain 6th Officer Moody.

**Disclaimer**: Don't own it…James Cameron owns the movie rights. I just own this crappy, slow, nazi computer.

**A/N**: Just wanted to give a shout out to all my great reviewers, you all made me feel sho special…especially **Willow Evanstar**. Golly gee, talk about positive support! That was a perfect first review to get this story off to a great start!

And lots of love to **Viviena**, who figured out the whole deal with the title being actual words of Moody's to a passenger. I'll probably include it later in the story, near the end...sob sob

P.S. I hope you all liked the speedy update! Chapter three is in the works as I type! Cheerio!

* * *

"_I still don't like this ship ... I have a queer feeling about it_."—Chief Officer Henry Wilde in a letter to his sister, which he sent at Queensland, the last stop before the journey to New York. 

Southampton, April 9th, 1912

Gwen heard faint voices before she opened her eyes.

"Who is she?" A curious voice.

"Did she sneak aboard?" A commanding tone.

"Should we alert the captain?" A skeptical person.

She let out a groan. Her head hurt really badly.

"Miss?" Someone pushed her hair out of her face. The same someone pulled her into a sitting position and patted her back comfortingly. "You can wake up."

Her hand flew to the back of her head and she let out a hiss when she touched it. She would definitely bruise.

"She's hurt!"

"Get her up, Officer Moody."

She felt herself being lifted up into some arms and then carried over a long distance. She didn't know where she was, but it felt better not knowing. The strong sea air was surrounding her, so she supposed she hadn't left the harbor. Before she knew it she had been deposited on a cot. With the general feeling that something wasn't right, she blearily opened her eyes.

Three men were beside her, each staring with curiosity. One was right next to her, and she was taken aback for how close he was, his hand on the small of her back so that she didn't fall over. He had a kind, bright face and brown hair. His eyes were brown.

"All right?" He asked. His accent was perfectly English…British English, she supposed. His voice was very soothing.

"Y-yeah." She managed to croak out. He smiled warmly. It was handsome on him.

The men behind him were considerably older looking. One was very tall and thin with a pleasant face and pronounced features. His eyes were blackish and kind. The second was shorter, a bit bulkier but not grotesquely so, clean shaven, with blue eyes and slight wrinkles. All three of them were dressed in some kind of uniform, complete with hat. They looked like they were part of a ship's crew.

"Hello there." The tall man said, snapping Gwen out of her reverie. This most certainly was not the harbor. What ship had these weirdo's dragged her on? How long had she been out? Questions were swimming in her mind.

"Where am I?" She asked groggily, and moved to sit up. The man at her side shushed her and pushed her down.

"You have a concussion that will need to be treated." He said, eyes worried. "You're in Southampton, Hampshire, aboard the _RMS Titanic_."

At that, Gwen bolted up, nearly colliding with the man who had been her savior. "What?" She looked around wildly. "Where's my birthday present?"

"You mean, this?" The shorter man held up the box her dad had gotten for her. She nodded and reached for it, but once again, Mr. Handsome Smile pushed her down.

"You must rest first, Miss." He insisted. "Try to sleep, we'll get this all cleared up later." Gwen's body told her that sleep was a good idea, but her mind really wanted to know what was going on.

"Can I have your names first?" She asked skeptically.

"Of course." He stood and Gwen was stunned to see that he was almost as tall as the real tall dude was.

"I am First Officer William Murdoch." The shorter one introduced himself. "This is Fifth Officer Henry Lowe, and Sixth Officer James Moody."

Each officer did a little bow.

"Hey. I'm Gwenivere Whitney, but just call me Gwen." Gwen said, trying to act polite.

"I'm going to fetch a nurse." Lowe said, and promptly left.

"I think it would be best to alert Captain Smith as well," Murdoch looked apologetic and left. Great, get the freaking captain involved. Hopefully, she'd die of blood loss and never have to face him.

That left her alone with Officer Moody.

"James, was it?" She said, feeling lightheaded. "Who found me?"

"I did, on the 1st Class deck, starboard side," Moody—James said, then blushed. He probably thought she had no clue as to what he was saying. She nodded seriously, and smiled, to show her understanding. He continued, "I shouted to Lowe to go get the First Officer, who happens to be"—he paused—"Mr. Murdoch. Then I carried you here and you woke up."

Gwen's head was spinning from all this new information. She was on the Titanic. Impossible! There was no way that she had gone back in time. But, here she was, with a man named James Moody. She remembered falling on the dock back in Boston. Maybe some psychos found her and took her to their own little ship. But her parents weren't even twenty feet away! They'd know if someone was dragging her away…but they did seem very wrapped up in each other…

"Can I see a window, please?" James frowned, but lifted her up to a porthole. Outside was most certainly NOT the Boston harbor she had left.

She saw decorators and crewman hurrying about the docks, and up and down the gangplanks. And what was worse was that they were dressed like…well, like they were from 1912.

With that thought, she immediately fainted. James Moody caught her on instinct, and was thoroughly bewildered.

* * *

Gwen woke up feeling like a million bucks. She smelled sea air and that special whiff of new furnishings and could hear gulls out of a distant window. Humming, she sat up and imagined herself on board _The Victoria _like she had been ever since she could walk. As she began to jump off of whatever she was napping on, it hit her—it was a cot. 

And everything came rushing back to her. The officers, the Titanic, the little boy, Ben and Amanda, her father, the box…it was all so overwhelming that she immediately quieted down and was suddenly stunned. She looked up and yelped with surprise to see eight men staring intently at her.

Three of them were Murdoch, Lowe, and Moody. The others were unfamiliar. They were all in uniform.

She stared at them, waiting for them to speak first.

"Why, hello." The white-bearded man spoke gruffly but gently. "I'm Captain Edward Smith. And who are you?"

_Shit._ Out of all the things on the Titanic, the captain was one of most remembered things her father had drilled into her brain. Smith had been notorious for being the captain of other vessels that had gotten wrecked or damaged in accidents and was known in modern times for making bad choices at sea. Titanic was his last voyage until he would retire for good, but it didn't matter because he died with the ship.

"Um…" She didn't know what to do. She could tell them a fake name…no good. She already told it to the other three officers. They would know something was up. She sighed inwardly. "Gwenivere Whitney."

"I see." He leaned forward from the stool he was perched on. "Do you have any idea why you were on this ship, without a ticket, a day _before_ her maiden voyage?" Gwen gulped. In this instance, they couldn't penalize her for telling the truth, right? It wasn't absolutely ridiculous…she had come to terms with it, at least.

"No, sir." She said, praying to goodness that they wouldn't lock her up or send her off to some foreign authorities. Instead, all of them raised their eyebrows.

"No?" He cocked his head.

Gwen steeled herself. Time for the moment of truth. She took a deep breath.

"I have something to tell you all, and it may shock you hear it, but I want you to know that I'm just as confused as you are." At their patient faces, she continued somewhat hesitantly. "I…I think I went back in time." There. She had blurted it all out, and had flinched back as soon as she said it, waiting for their outraged or ridiculing responses. She got none, however. She was met with incredulous looks.

They probably hadn't been expecting that.

"No, really, I can prove it!" She jumped up with newfound purpose, ready to redeem herself. "My wallet…is somewhere…" She fumbled around with her jeans before opening a pocket and pulling out her slender wallet. "Here's my driver's license!" She said, taking it out and presenting it to the captain. The picture involved her smiling in a cheesy way, but the point of it was that the expiration date and her birth date were there, and that was proof enough. At least they were way after 1912.

"Not good enough?" She pulled out some dollar bills. There were several twenties in there from her job, including the new ones that had the rainbow-y picture meshed into it. She showed them that as well. It had _series 2004_ in fine print near the center by George Washington's picture.

They looked astonished now, but Gwen still didn't think it was enough.

"Wait, wait…" She was looking around for something remotely relevant to the problem, "ever had Winterfresh?" She was on her last leg. If they didn't buy her license, actual cast, and gum, then she had no hope.

"Now that's all I have on me that can make my case, so please look it over carefully before deciding that I'm insane." Gwen made a miserable face. Worst case scenario was that they would turn her in to a jailhouse or something. Best case: they would just throw her off the ship, no questions asked. But where would she go? If she had any choice, she'd rather stay on the ship. Except for that whole sinking part. But Gwen wasn't stupid, like some of the people back then was. She wouldn't ever just pass up the opportunity to leave a doomed ship just because it was warmer than a lifeboat at sea. Nope, she would rather be there than stuck in Southampton with a bunch of crazies.

After a moment, she looked up.

"Do you believe me?"

"It's absurd!" One man said without hesitation.

"Quite a queer story," agreed Lowe.

"It has supporting evidence…" mused Captain Smith.

"I believe her." All eyes turned towards a solitary voice. It was James Moody. Still handsome. He coughed, not used to all the attention. "I mean, there isn't evidence against it." Their eyes met across the room, and she chanced a smile. He smiled back.

"Oh, come off it," A tall, commandeering man said, obviously agitated. It was the man who had called her situation 'absurd'. "No evidence against it except the general law of physics and nature. There is no _way_—"

"Officer, Wilde, if I may." Captain Smith broke in. Gwen silently thanked him; that one man, Wilde or something, would have probably made a few good points. "What do you see when you look at this girl?"

The man studied her for what seemed like an hour. Then he spoke, "Her clothing is odd." He seemed to eye her with distaste. She suddenly remembered that in 1912, hearing of women and girls who wore pants was outrageous. Her shirt was probably too tight by their standards—but thank heavens they couldn't see it under her red windbreaker.

"Indeed." Captain Smith smiled. "We have no choice but to trust her."

Wilde sputtered.

"Dude!" Gwen exclaimed, relishing in her happiness. She received some weird looks, and quieted down. "I have nowhere else to go." She said, when she was calmed down.

"Where are you from?" Murdoch asked. She pondered this. Should she tell them the time as well?

"I was born in Boston, Massachusetts…" Aw heck. Who cared. "…in January, 1988. When I was taken here, to 1912, it was the year 2005." They all drew in breaths. That was nearly 100 years into the future. She didn't blame them for being shocked.

"I'm willing to work," she said nervously. "Like I said, I have no where else."

Captain Smith was quiet.

"Can you cook?" He asked suddenly. Gwen nodded. Her mom worked late and there were times when she had to make her own dinners, due to her father being at sea.

"We need an extra cook for the crew's mess." He said thoughtfully. "You would only prepare breakfast and lunch, and dinner would be carried to the crew separately. There are extra state rooms in the officer's wing for God only knows what reasons, and you would be paid, of course—"

"Oh, I don't need pay, just somewhere to stay." Gwen interrupted happily. E.J. considered this before nodding.

"So be it." He said, smiling.

"Oh man, this is so awesome, but so messed up at the same time." She sighed, not caring what strange looks she got this time around. "Do I get a schedule to follow?"

"I'll have a kitchen cook show you around," Smith said, chuckling silently at her eagerness. Gwen stood up, and opened her wallet.

"Well, I'd like to take back what little possessions I have, if you don't mind." She said sheepishly, noticing for the first time that her license, money, and gum were still in their hands. After collecting it all, she brushed off her pants and smiled.

"Lead the way."

As the group followed Captain Smith to the officer's quarters, an officer with a mustache suddenly asked Gwen a question that would reel her.

"How did you know that it was 1912, miss?"

Everyone stopped, wanting to find out. Gwen looked down. She couldn't tell them how she knew. Maybe halfway…she'd been doing fine so far…she'd try pushing her luck while it was good.

"People still talk about Titanic, in my time." She said, shrugging. "It's a famous ship." She had cut herself off from saying 'ship_wreck_'.

"Still?" And it was Wilde who said that, his eyes wide in fascination, as if he couldn't believe the ship had survived to sail for many more generations.

"Still." She repeated, smiling.

But she didn't have the heart to tell them that it wasn't what they were thinking of, with joyful images of fame and glory fogging their heads, that their fame and glory would go hand in hand with inevitable tragedy.

* * *

A/N: Ah...done with the dreaded denial chapter. Every story where a kid falls into a different world has one. Good place to stop, no? I thought I would butcher this chapter alive, considering the great reviews I got for the first chapter (how do I live up to those! Pressure!)! For reference, I don't think Wilde was a very mean guy. And also, though Captain Smith did have an uneasy reputation for captaining ships, the mistakes weren'tmake by him alone...nothing was entirely all his fault. Just wanted to clarify that. Review, please! 


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